Potato Gratin (No Cheese)

Adapted from A Passion for Potatoes by Lydie Marshall (HarperCollins, 1992).

You must use some kind of mandoline to slice the potatoes thin enough. I use a Benriner mandoline.

Serves 4 to 6

1 large garlic clove
2 pounds Yukon Gold or russet potatoes, peeled and sliced ⅛ inch thick
1½ teaspoons salt
1½ cups half-and-half
1 tablespoon cold butter
⅓ cup heavy cream

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Butter a 2-quart rectangular or oval baking dish (a Pyrex dish works fine). Cut the garlic clove in half, and rub it around the inside of the dish.

Peel the potatoes, and slice them ⅛ inch thick. Layer the potatoes in the dish, about three overlapping layers deep, lightly sprinkling salt between each layer. Pour the half-and-half over the potatoes, just enough to barely cover them. Dot the top with the butter.

Bake for 45 minutes.

Remove the dish from the oven, and pour the heavy cream over the top, tilting the pan to distribute it evenly. Return to the oven, and bake for another 45 minutes, or until the top is golden.

Beet Borscht Salad

Adapted from Barry Ballister’s Fruit and Vegetable Stand by Barry Ballister (The Overlook Press, 1987) and Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan (Alfred A. Knopf, 1992).

Serves 4–6, depending on whether you’re using it as a salad or a condiment

The first time I made this recipe from Barry Ballister’s Fruit and Vegetable Stand, I misread the recipe, and I liked the result so much I’ve been making it that way ever since.

I learned how to roast beets from Marcella Hazan.

4 to 6 medium red beets
Sour cream (I use Fage)

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Use kitchen shears to cut off the long stringy tops of the beets. Trim the root ends if they are “furry,” but leave the beets intact. Wash them.

Wrap the beets tightly in aluminum foil. I wrap them twice to be sure the juices don’t leak out because I don’t put them on a sheet pan.

Bake until the beets are easily pierced with a metal cake tester right through the foil. This usually takes about 1 hour. When the cake tester slips through easily, remove the beets from the oven.

Open the foil carefully so you don’t burn yourself.

Let the beets cool a little, then slip off the skins. It is easiest to do this under cold running water while they are still warm.

Slice, dice, or quarter the beets, depending on your preference. I usually leave them in largish pieces. Chill.

Serve the cold beets topped with dollops of sour cream. The chilled beets are also good as part of a salad made with arugula and goat cheese.

Eggplant Parmesan

Adapted from Melissa Clark, NYTimes

This is not the Eggplant Parmesan you would make if you were using Marcella Hazan’s recipe in Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking or eating in Italy. My guess is it’s a version of Eggplant Parmesan attributable to the Italian-American immigrants who arrived in large numbers between the 1880s and the 1920s.

My own grandmother was born in 1897, in her family’s apartment at 193 Mott Street, New York City. She was the youngest of eight children and the first to be born here, making her the first natural-born American in my family—since my mother was from England. “Nanny” was a good cook and made fried eggplant often, but I don’t remember her ever making Eggplant Parmesan.

Melissa Clark wrote a piece for The New York Times called “Parmigiana Dishes to Warm Weary Souls.” She uses panko, but when I make Eggplant Parmesan—or any kind of schnitzel—I use 4C plain (unseasoned) dried breadcrumbs. Plain dried breadcrumbs are what recipe writer and cookbook author Rachel Roddy uses, and, as always, I follow her advice.

Notes

Here are some things I find helpful when making this dish:

– A breading set. The one I use is by Küchenprofi and is sometimes available on Amazon. I laughed at the idea the first time I saw it in a catalog, but when I used one at my friend Lamar’s house, I was sold. I ordered one immediately and now use it all the time—for schnitzel, chicken cutlets, anything that needs a bound breading. It’s a million times easier than using three plates and absolutely worth getting if you bread a lot of things.
– A Pyrex 11-cup casserole (I first found it in the grocery store) to bake it in.
– I grate the Parmesan with a classic Microplane.
– For the mozzarella, I use the large holes on a box grater.
– I use the medium strainer from a SALT set I bought years ago at Bed Bath & Beyond. It’s no longer available, but the mesh is just right for this: not too fine, so the eggs strain easily and the rope-like protein structures—which interfere with smooth breading—are left behind.

Serves 4 with leftovers

A little butter
1 recipe of Melissa Clark’s Simple Tomato Sauce
8 ounces fresh mozzarella
1 to 1½ cups grated Parmesan cheese (get the really good stuff—don’t skimp here)
6 large eggs (start with 4; add 2 more if needed)
Flour (I use Bob’s Red Mill White Rice Flour, not sweet rice flour)
Plain dried breadcrumbs (not seasoned)
Vegetable oil (I use grapeseed)
2 globe eggplants or 4–5 small Italian eggplants (not skinny Japanese)

Make the Simple Tomato Sauce and let it cool before layering, or make it ahead so it’s ready to go.

Beat the eggs and strain them through a not-too-fine mesh strainer into a small bowl. Don’t skip this step—it removes the chalazae (the rope-like protein strands) that make the breadcrumbs clump rather than adhere smoothly to the eggplant. It’s a small step that makes a big difference.

Wash and dry the eggplant; don’t peel it. Slice into rounds about ⅓ inch thick.

Set up your breading station with three plates: one with flour, one with the strained eggs, and one with breadcrumbs.

Season the flour generously with salt and pepper and stir to combine.

Dredge the eggplant slices in flour, then egg, then breadcrumbs. Set the breaded slices on a platter as you go.

Shallow-fry the slices in vegetable oil until golden brown on both sides. Be careful not to let them burn. Transfer each piece to a fresh platter as it’s done.

While the eggplant cools a bit, grate the mozzarella and Parmesan into separate piles. Set out the sauce, cheeses, and eggplant so they’re all within easy reach.

Butter a deep casserole dish (about 3 inches deep). Begin layering in this order:

– Sauce
– Parmesan cheese
– Eggplant
– Mozzarella

Repeat:

– Sauce
– Parmesan cheese
– Eggplant
– Mozzarella

…and so on, ending with sauce and Parmesan. (Do not end with mozzarella.) By the time I’m done, I’ve used all the sauce and mozzarella.

Bake in a preheated 350°F oven for about 40 minutes, or until the dish is bubbling all the way through and the top is just starting to brown. Let it rest at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes before cutting and serving

Eggplant Breaded with Plain Dried Breadcrumbs

Before Going into the Oven - Parmesan Cheese on Top

Baked Eggplant Parmesan

Potato Puree

Adapted from Simply French: Patricia Wells Presents the Cuisine of Joël Robuchon by Patricia Wells (William Morrow, 1991).

Serves variable; scale as needed

From Patricia Wells and Joël Robuchon, I learned that potato purée is the star of the meal—not a side. It is what dinner guests talk about, no matter what else is on the plate. This does not replace mashed potatoes, but when you want something extra special, this is the way to go.

When I make mashed potatoes, everything I do is the same except I don’t take the final step of pushing the potatoes through a tamis or strainer.

Equipment You Need
A potato ricer (what I use) or a food mill
An electric hand mixer
A tamis (what I use) or another strainer

I got my tamis at E. Dehillerin in Paris.

I can’t really give you exact amounts—it depends on how many people you are serving.

Russet or Yukon Gold potatoes (I usually use Russets because I always have them on hand.)
Heavy cream, heated (Don’t be shy; the potatoes can incorporate a lot of cream.)
Butter
Fine sea salt to taste

Peel your potatoes, and cut them into chunks, halving or quartering them depending on size.

Steam the potatoes until a cake tester pierces them easily. I use a basket steamer. Remove the steamer from the pot. The potatoes will be flaky at this point, not waterlogged. Put them through a potato ricer directly into a bowl.

The next steps are based on feel. Heat some heavy cream in a Pyrex cup in the microwave. Be generous—the potatoes can absorb more than you think. Add butter to the hot cream so it melts. Slowly incorporate the cream and butter into the riced potatoes, and beat with a handheld electric mixer for a long time, until very smooth.

Add fine sea salt to taste. I don’t add much, and I don’t add pepper—black or white. Beat the salt into the potatoes. If you are making mashed potatoes, stop here.

For potato purée, push the mixture through a tamis or sieve into a heatproof bowl. I use a flexible dough scraper to do this.

To reheat, Patricia Wells warms the purée over a double boiler for about 10 minutes. I use the microwave and don’t feel it suffers at all. This also means I can make it ahead the same day I am serving it—no last-minute fiddling.

When finished, potato purée will sort of spread on the plate and have a slightly elastic quality. quality.

A tamis should fit comfortably over the bowl 

Hunkar Begendi - Turkish Eggplant Puree

Serves 4 to 6

This is a recipe for Hunkar Begendi, a Turkish eggplant purée that Joyce Goldstein served at her restaurant, Square One, in San Francisco as a bed for little meatballs in tomato sauce. I’ve served it that way, but it’s also delicious with lamb chops and makes a wonderful addition to a vegetable supper.

3 eggplants, about 1 pound each (not the small Japanese variety)
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

For the béchamel:

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup heavy cream
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

Preheat the oven to 450°F.

Wash but do not peel the eggplants. Prick them in a few places with a fork, then place them in a roasting pan and bake, turning occasionally, until very soft — about 45 minutes to 1 hour, depending on your oven and the size of the eggplants.

Let cool until easy to handle. Cut in half and scoop the flesh into a colander. Let drain for about 15 minutes, then purée the flesh in a food processor.

While the eggplants are cooling, make the béchamel:

Warm the cream in the microwave. In a saucepan, melt the butter over low heat. Add the flour and cook, stirring constantly, for about 4 minutes, until smooth and blended. Whisk in the warm cream and continue whisking until the sauce thickens, about 4 minutes. Add the salt, pepper, and nutmeg.

In a bowl, combine the eggplant purée, béchamel, and Parmesan. Taste and adjust the seasoning as needed. Keep warm over hot water or reheat gently in the microwave just before serving.

Rice-Filled Tomatoes

Although Orangette, The Wednesday Chef, and Rachel Eats are no longer being actively updated, their archives remain online and are well worth reading. In the case of The Wednesday Chef, Luisa Weiss went to a great deal of trouble to keep the posts accessible.

Adapted from Orangette (Molly Wizenberg), The Wednesday Chef (Luisa Weiss), and Rachel Eats (Rachel Roddy).

Serves 2 as a main dish; 4 as a side dish

If you happen to have some leftover baguette lying around, or some crusty white bread or something like that, it will take you about 5 minutes. Just cut off the crust, cut the soft center into cubes, and whirl the cubes in a food processor until they are reduced to fine crumbs. (Only process a couple of handfuls at a time, though, or the motor of the machine could overheat.)
— Orangette

The first time I made this, I used plain, not (never) seasoned, dried breadcrumbs, and they were fine, but I’ve made my own breadcrumbs too, and they are very good. Unless my bread has a thick crust, I don’t bother to cut it off.

4 large tomatoes
1 small yellow onion, diced
Olive oil
1/3 cup Arborio rice
1/3 cup water
5 fresh basil leaves
Maldon Salt
Breadcrumbs
2 flaky potatoes (such as Yukon Gold), sliced into ¼-inch-thick rounds or, maybe even better, cut into chunks

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Cut the tops off the tomatoes, and scoop out the flesh, seeds, and juice into a bowl.

Put the tomatoes into a lightly oiled 9- by 13-inch baking dish. Using kitchen shears, cut the flesh of the tomatoes directly in the bowl you have put them in.

Warm a glug of olive oil in a small saucepan over medium heat; add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until soft and translucent. Add the rice to the pan, and continue to cook, stirring, for another minute or two. Then add all the contents of the bowl (tomato flesh, juice, and seeds—this looks like a lot, but don’t worry) as well as the water. Tear the basil leaves into pieces and add them too, along with a pinch or two of Maldon Salt squished by your fingertips.

Reduce the heat, cover the pot, and simmer for 10 minutes. Taste, and add more salt if necessary. The rice is not cooked through at this point. Spoon this mixture into the tomatoes, and sprinkle breadcrumbs lightly over the top of each tomato.

Arrange the potato slices or chunks around the tomatoes in the pan. Drizzle olive oil over everything, and turn the potatoes over to make sure they are covered on both sides.

Bake for about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Make sure the potatoes are cooked through before you take the pan from the oven. Cool for 10 to 15 minutes before serving.

Oven Fries

Adapted from Joie de Vivre by Robert Arbor and Katherine Whiteside

Serves 4

This is a lovely little book, and the recipes work well exactly as written. I don't make proper French fries at home, and these are a better-than-great substitute for them.

Oven Fries
Adapted from Joie de Vivre by Robert Arbor and Katherine Whiteside

10 garlic cloves, 5 mashed and 5 whole
¾ cup olive oil
Salt and pepper
Rosemary
6 Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and kept in water to preserve color (Obviously, if you're going to cook them immediately, don't put them in water. Whatever you do, pat them dry before you put them in the olive oil mixture.)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Cut the peeled potatoes in half lengthwise, and make 3 to 4 wedges from each half. Mix the garlic, olive oil, salt, pepper, and rosemary in a bowl. Put the potatoes in the bowl and toss to coat with the olive oil mixture. Arrange the potato wedges on a sheet pan, one by one so that the rounded part is on the pan, and cook in the oven until tender and brown, about 30 to 35 minutes.

Mushrooms with Garlic

Adapted from Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan

Serves 6
I guess it's fair to say that if I could only have one cookbook, this would be it. I could eat out of it forever. These mushrooms are delicious and can be served hot, warm, or at room temperature, which makes them fabulous as part of an antipasto platter. I also love to serve them on top of a steaming bowl of Progresso Lentil Soup (not the low fat one, the original one) to which I have optionally stirred in a tablespoon or so of sour cream. This makes a great winter lunch with basic bruschetta (real garlic bread) and a tart green salad and a glass of minerally white wine.

To make this dish even more delicious and especially wine friendly, at the end of cooking add a very small glug of white truffle oil. Turn off the heat, and stir. The fragrance is divine, and it is yum.

1½ pounds white cultivated mushrooms
1½ teaspoons garlic, chopped
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt
3 tablespoons parsley, chopped

Clean mushrooms carefully with a paper towel. I don't wash them because they soak up too much water. If you like, you can slice off and discard a thin disk from the end of the mushroom stem, but I often don't bother to do this. Cut the mushrooms with the stems still attached lengthwise into 1/4 inch thick slices.

Use a frying pan that can hold the mushrooms without crowding. Add olive oil to the frying pan, and heat it to medium. Add the mushrooms, and turn the heat up a little. Cook, stirring occasionally, with a wooden spatula.

When the mushrooms have absorbed the oil, add salt, and turn the heat down to low. As soon as the mushrooms release their juices, turn the heat up a little again, and cook those juices away for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring frequently.

Add the garlic, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the garlic turns golden, being careful not to burn it or it will be bitter. Add the chopped parsley, add salt to taste,* and stir. (*This is the point at which you might want to add a tiny glug of white truffle oil, just before you turn off the heat. It's tastes very earthy and smells divine.)

Green Beans with Tomatoes

Adapted from Marcella’s Italian Kitchen by Marcella Hazan (Alfred A. Knopf, 1986)

Serves 4

This can be served either as a vegetable or as a pasta sauce. It is perfect in summer, when the basil is fresh, the green beans are young, and the tomatoes are beautifully ripe. Having said that, I make it in the dead of winter with canned tomatoes, and it is still delicious. This should make enough for four servings of pasta, although that depends on how much pasta you serve per person. It will definitely make enough for four 2-ounce portions, measured dry before cooking. A 2-ounce portion is apparently considered a starter portion in Italy; around here, it is a dinner portion with vegetables or a large salad.

1 400g can Italian peeled plum tomatoes, cut up, with their juice
1 pound fresh green beans
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus 2 tablespoons if using as a pasta sauce
2 teaspoons garlic, cut into thin slivers, or up to 1 tablespoon if using as a pasta sauce
Salt
¼ cup fresh basil leaves

Trim the stem ends from the green beans, leaving the pointed ends intact, and wash the beans in cold water. If using this as a pasta sauce, cut the beans into 2-inch pieces and use penne.

Choose a pan with a lid that will hold all the green beans. I use a 3-quart saucier.

Add the ¼ cup olive oil and the garlic to the pan and turn the heat to medium. Cook until the garlic is pale gold; do not let it brown.

Add the tomatoes, raise the heat, and cook for about 5 minutes.

Add the green beans, lower the heat to medium, season with salt, and cover the pan. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the beans are tender but not mushy, 15 to 20 minutes.

If the juices in the pan are watery when the beans are done, remove the beans with a slotted spoon, raise the heat, and cook until the excess liquid has evaporated.

If serving as a vegetable, return the beans to the pan, mix in the basil leaves, and serve.

If using this as a pasta sauce, do not add the basil to the pan. When the pasta is cooked and drained, toss it with the beans and all the contents of the pan. Add the basil leaves, toss again, drizzle with the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil, and serve immediately.

Variation Using Fresh Tomatoes

In summer, when the tomatoes are glorious, substitute 1 pound very ripe fresh tomatoes for the canned tomatoes. If using this as a pasta sauce, increase the tomatoes to 1½ pounds.

Add the tomatoes to a pot of boiling water. When the water returns to a boil, cook for about 1 minute. Drain and, when cool enough to handle, peel the tomatoes and cut them into large pieces. Proceed with the recipe, substituting the fresh tomatoes for the canned.

Dell's Asparagus

Serves 4

One summer day in the seventies sitting at a swimming pool at Lake of the Ozarks, Dell McAbee told me how she cooked asparagus.

Asparagus is best trimmed by snapping the stalks where they naturally break, leaving behind the fibrous ends. Neatly trim the bottoms with a sharp knife. Lay the asparagus flat in a skillet or sauté pan and fill the pan with enough water to just cover the stalks. Salt the water.

Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for about 4 minutes, less if the asparagus is very thin—although fat asparagus is my favorite. The exact timing depends on how thick the stalks are. Test for doneness by poking a stalk with the tip of a sharp knife or a cake tester—or taste a stalk as you would with strands of spaghetti.

Note: Asparagus is delicious with hollandaise or chilled and served with vinaigrette. But it’s hard to beat it hot, tossed with butter or olive oil and sprinkled with flaky Maldon salt.

Garlicky Broccoli

Adapted from “Dr. Andrew Weil’s Broccoli” on Food.com.

Serves 4

This is a good recipe because it is delicious served hot, but also delicious chilled, with lemon juice squeezed over it, which means the leftovers are worth having. You can cook the broccoli so it is crunchy, soft, or somewhere in between, whichever way you like it. I do broccolini this way too, trimming off the bottom ends and following the same directions.

1 head broccoli, cut into florets
2 to 3 cloves garlic, smashed
1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil
¼ cup water
Maldon Salt, to taste
Lemon wedges, for serving cold, optional

Put the broccoli florets in a pan that has a lid. Add the garlic, olive oil, and water. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce the heat, and cook for about 10 minutes, or until the broccoli is done the way you like it.

The liquid should have evaporated by then, leaving you with olive-oil-coated, garlicky broccoli. Sprinkle with Maldon Salt to taste.

Serve hot, or chill and serve cold with lemon juice squeezed over it.

Sweet Potato Puree - For Bill

Adapted from Gotham Bar and Grill Cookbook by Alfred Portale

Serves 4





This is really, really good and really, really easy. You can even make it ahead of time and heat it up in the microwave just before serving. You don't even need a mixer to mash the sweet potatoes, they are so soft that a hand masher works. This will become one of your favorite and most useful recipes because it goes with so many dishes, and you can easily increase the amount you make.

4 large sweet potatoes (2 pounds total), a thin slice cut from one end of each potato (to avoid exploding in the oven)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon maple syrup (I like Grade A Dark Amber or even Grade B because they are dark and flavorful)
Coarse salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake the sweet potatoes until tender when pierced with a cake tester or fork. This will take about 1 hour.

When done, remove the potatoes from the oven, slit them open.

If you are going to serve them quickly, scoop the flesh into a medium saucepan. Add the butter and maple syrup. Mash or stir (because they should be very soft) the potatoes over very low heat until they are smooth, and the butter is incorporated, about 1 minute. Season with salt.

You can keep the potatoes warm for a little while placing the saucepan in a skillet of simmering water over low heat.

If preparing ahead of time, place the flesh in a bowl. Add the butter and maple syrup. Mash or stir the potatoes until the butter is incorporated, and the texture is the way you like it. Cover and set aside.

When ready to heat, put a plate on top of the bowl (because you do not want to heat plastic wrap), and heat for 3 minutes in microwave. Stir again, and serve.

Print recipe.

Fried Red Peppers

Adapted from Cucina Fresca by Viana La Place and Evan Kleiman (Harper & Row, 1985)

Serves 4 to 6

“You will be amazed that so simple a preparation yields such tasty results.”

This is a miracle recipe. Make the peppers while you’re hanging around the kitchen so you can afford to be patient and not hurry them along. The slower they cook without burning, the sweeter they become.

If you make them in advance, be sure to serve them at room temperature, not cold.

I often serve these as a starter with Nanny’s Stuffed Mushrooms and a green bean salad. They are also wonderful on top of asparagus vinaigrette. Margaret likes them with anchovies.

4 to 6 red bell peppers
Olive oil

Cut the tops and bottoms from the peppers. Remove the seeds and white ribs, then cut the peppers into ½-inch vertical slices.

Cover the bottom of a skillet or saucier with a light coating of olive oil and place over medium heat. Add the peppers and stir to coat. When the peppers are hot, reduce the heat to moderate and cook them slowly until very soft with a few browned edges.

Nanny''s Stuffed Mushrooms

Makes as many as you want

These are very, very good. When my mother told me this was how Nanny made them, I was sure she was wrong. She wasn’t. Please read the whole recipe before you start.

Large cultivated white mushrooms (If you can find the very large ones packaged specifically for stuffing, get them.) or cremini mushrooms
Plain dry breadcrumbs (NOT seasoned)
Salt and pepper
Pinch of dried oregano
Olive oil

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Remove the stems from the mushrooms and coarsely chop them. Place the chopped stems in a bowl and add plain dry breadcrumbs. The amount of breadcrumbs is scant — about ¼ cup for a large package of mushrooms.

Add a little salt and pepper and a pinch of dried oregano, crushing the oregano with your fingers as you add it.

DO NOT ADD ANY LIQUID INGREDIENTS. DO NOT COOK THE STUFFING.

Arrange the mushroom caps open side up in a baking pan. Fill the indentations with the stuffing mixture, which will seem much too dry and will fall out a little. This can be prepared in advance to this point.

Drizzle lightly with olive oil. The mushrooms do not need to be coated with oil.

Bake for 20 to 30 minutes, until sizzling and lightly browned. The amount of time will depend on the size of the mushrooms.

The cook gets to eat all the little crunchy bits in the bottom of the pan.

Cauliflower Gratin

Adapted from More Vegetables, Please by Janet Kessel Fletcher (Harlow & Ratner, 1992).

Serves 4

If you think people don’t like cauliflower, make this. You’ll be surprised at how fast it disappears.

¼ cup olive oil
1 medium cauliflower
Salt and pepper
2 cups soft fresh breadcrumbs
¾ cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano and/or Pecorino Romano cheese
2 tablespoons minced parsley

Preheat the oven to 425°F.

Cut the cauliflower florets from the thick stem, leaving the florets in large pieces. Steam the florets over simmering water for 3 minutes. Essentially, you want to just moisten them, not really cook them, because you are going to finish them in the oven. Cut the large steamed florets into smaller florets.

Liberally oil a baking dish with low sides that is just large enough to hold the cauliflower florets in one flat layer with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Arrange the cauliflower florets in one layer in the baking dish. Season with salt and pepper.

Combine the breadcrumbs with the cheese and parsley. With your hands, pat the mixture on the cauliflower, pressing it down. Drizzle the top with the remaining 3 tablespoons of olive oil, and bake until well browned and crusty, about 30 minutes.

Creamed Lima Beans

I have a cousin, Bill, who grew up in a small town in Illinois where I, a New York City kid, got to go for my childhood summers. It’s near the Mississippi, which really is mighty, and Bill, his sister Barbara, and I spent many happy and carefree hours on that amazing river. On Sunday mornings we would head out early with a large basket filled with the fried chicken and coleslaw that Aunt Rita had made on Saturday night. Bill and Barbara and I would spend the day boating and swimming and picnicking. Pepsi, not Coke, was the drink of choice, and we were allowed to eat a whole bag of the always-forbidden-in-my-house potato chips.

The fields in the area are rolling and from the plane look like a patchwork quilt. The sky is big. The earth is black and rich and fragrant. There are family-owned pig farms in the area, and the air near those farms is strong and pungent, in a pleasing earthy way. Fried pork chop sandwiches are a regional specialty. The street is called Main, and the Post Office still had a WPA mural painted during the Franklin Roosevelt administration the last time I was there.

I hope it still is.

It is the Midwest of Carl Sandburg and Mark Twain and Abraham Lincoln.

My cousins love good food. They grew up eating excellent meals at home because their mother, my Aunt Rita, was a terrific and enthusiastic cook. I always thought Bill (but not Barbara) would like this recipe. I'm sorry I never got to cook it for him.

Recipe Notes: Even if you think you don’t like lima beans, try this. It goes with many things, and everyone loves it. If you make this once, I think you will make it again and again.

Maldon Salt is organic salt that is hand-harvested from the sea on the east coast of England. Instead of being in crystals, it is in beautiful flakes that you pick up and crush with your fingers over your food. I keep it in a small covered bowl on my counter because I use it all the time. I'm sure by now you've discovered Maldon, but if not, now is the time. 

This dish is excellent served with rigatoni topped with what I call Marcella's Miracle Sauce  - her justly famous tomato sauce made only with tomatoes, onion, and butter.  I usually serve them on the same large white dinner plate.  

Creamed Lima Beans

1 package frozen lima beans (Fordhook are best, but baby limas are okay too)
½ pint heavy cream
Salt for water
Maldon Salt to finish

Put the contents of the package of frozen lima beans into a 2-quart pot. Add as much water as you can, leaving room so the water doesn’t boil over. Salt the water lightly. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat, and simmer until about the beans are three-quarters of the way done. Taste like you would spaghetti or green beans to check for doneness. Drain the water when there’s just a little resistance to the bite.

Put lima beans back in the pan and add the heavy cream. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and cook at a steady simmer until the cream thickens into a sauce.

If you keep cooking, the cream will essentially “disappear” and coat the beans like butter. Don’t go this far. You really want them creamy. Add Maldon Sea Salt to taste by picking it up in your hand and crushing it a little as you sprinkle it on the beans.

An added bonus to this dish is that leftovers (if you have any) can be made into a delicious puree.

Just heat the leftovers in the microwave for one minute to loosen slightly. Then put into a food processor, and run while adding more cream until the puree reaches the desired consistency. Then put the puree into a bowl, and heat in the microwave. I assume if you put the puree through a tamis - or strainer - it would become silken rather than just smooth, but I have never bother to do that.

Leftover Lima Beans in Cream Turned Into Puree

Sweet & Sour Red Cabbage

Adapted from “Sweet and Sour Red Cabbage” by Susan Feniger and Mary Sue Milliken in Great Food Without Fuss, edited by Frances McCullough and Barbara Witt (Henry Holt and Company, 1992).

Serves 6

This cabbage is brilliant, in taste and in hue. It is a good accompaniment for chicken and all pork dishes—chops, roasts, sausages, and ham. I especially like it served with Butternut Squash Purée on my holiday table. Its jewel tone adds color, and its piquant taste adds tang. Since it is good served hot, at room temperature, or cold, it is nice to have leftovers.

1 large head red cabbage
2 large onions, chopped coarsely
½ cup granulated sugar
1 cup red wine or cider vinegar (I usually use cider)
1 bay leaf, optional (Morton & Bassett brand preferred)
1½ teaspoons salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
¼ to ½ cup olive oil

Cut the cabbage into quarters, core, and shred with a knife. I shred it somewhere between fine and coarse.

In a pot large enough to hold the cabbage, heat the oil, and cook the onions until they turn gold. Move the pot off the heat, and add the rest of the ingredients, moving quickly. Without the acid of the vinegar, if the cabbage heats, it will turn blue rather than staying a beautiful jewel-like red. Mix thoroughly. If you are using the bay leaf, tuck it into the cabbage, and stir.

Heat the mixture, then reduce the heat so the ingredients simmer.

Cover the pot, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the cabbage is tender. This will take about an hour. If all of the liquid in the pot has not evaporated, raise the heat, and cook uncovered until it has evaporated.

Serve hot, at room temperature, or cold.

Caponata

Adapted from The Victory Garden Cookbook by Marian Morash (Alfred A. Knopf, 1982)

Makes 7 to 8 cups

2 pounds eggplant
Salt
¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups chopped onions
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup peeled, seeded, and chopped tomatoes
½ cup pitted, halved green olives*
¼ cup rinsed and drained capers
1 tablespoon pine nuts
⅓ cup red wine vinegar heated with 1 tablespoon sugar dissolved in it

Peel the eggplant, and cut it into ¾-inch cubes. Salt the cubes, and let them drain in a colander over a plate or in the sink for about 30 minutes. Shake the colander, transfer the eggplant to a kitchen towel or paper towels, and pat dry.

Heat half the oil in a large skillet, and sauté half the eggplant until golden brown, about 6 to 10 minutes. Transfer the eggplant to a strainer or colander, and let drain. Add the remaining oil to the skillet, sauté the rest of the eggplant, and drain as above.

In the same oil (adding up to 2 tablespoons more oil if necessary), sauté the onions and celery until just tender. Add the tomatoes. Cover, and cook for 4 to 5 minutes. Uncover, and cook 5 minutes more.

If your skillet is not large enough to hold everything, transfer the vegetables to a larger pot before proceeding. (A wide Dutch oven or a 6- to 7-quart pot works well here. I often use my 6.25-quart Le Creuset risotto pot.)

Add the eggplant, olives, capers, and pine nuts. Pour the vinegar-sugar mixture over everything. Cover, and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes more. Season to taste with salt, and cool.

Serve at room temperature or chilled.

*I have recently discovered pitted Gordal olives, which are astonishingly flavorful and deeply savory. I know this sounds like an exaggeration; it is not. If you can find them, use them here.

Eggplant with Marinated Tomatoes

Adapted from It's About Time by Michael Schlow (Clarkson Potter, 2005)
Serves 4

Note: Read the full recipe before starting to understand how the eggplant and tomato components fit together. The timing matters.

Eggplant

1 cup flour (I use Bob’s Red Mill White Rice Flour—not sweet.)
Salt and pepper
2 eggs
1 cup fine dried bread crumbs
1 small to medium unpeeled eggplant, sliced into rounds slightly thicker than ¼ inch
The same number of thin slices of fresh mozzarella as slices of eggplant
Neutral oil for frying (I use grapeseed)
Heaping tablespoons of Basil-Marinated Tomatoes (recipe follows)

Place the flour on a large flat plate and season with salt and pepper.

Beat the eggs and put them through a sieve into a small bowl. This makes the eggs lump-free so the breadcrumbs adhere evenly. Pour the eggs from the bowl onto another flat plate.

Put the breadcrumbs onto a third flat plate.

Dip both sides of each eggplant slice in the flour, shaking off any excess, then in the beaten eggs, allowing the excess egg to drip back onto the plate, then in the breadcrumbs, coating both sides evenly. Place each breaded slice on a clean platter as you go, and repeat the process until all slices are breaded. You can refrigerate the platter of breaded eggplant slices for 30 minutes, but you don’t have to.

Fry each slice of eggplant until golden brown on both sides. Transfer to a plate or platter until all slices are done.

Place each fried slice on a plate, top with a thin slice of mozzarella, then with a spoonful of Basil-Marinated Tomatoes, and serve.

Basil-Marinated Tomatoes
Makes 1½ cups

4 ripe tomatoes, cut into medium dice (Use plum, round, or cherry tomatoes—whatever are the best available.)
8 to 10 large basil leaves, washed, dried, and torn into small pieces
2 ounces (¼ cup) of your best extra-virgin olive oil
Juice of half a lemon
Salt

Combine everything in a bowl and marinate for at least one hour and no more than two. Before serving, drain some of the liquid or use a slotted spoon to serve.

Butternut Squash Purée

Adapted from The Frog Commissary Cookbook by Steven Poses, Anne Clark, and Becky Roller (Doubleday, 1985)

Serves 4 to 6

I love The Frog Commissary Cookbook; I keep it on the shelf of my favorites in the kitchen. My hardback copy is literally falling to pieces.

I don't make this dish in the summer, but as soon as the leaves start to turn, out comes this recipe. It goes especially well with chicken and pork. I often pair it at a meal with sweet and sour red cabbage, which doesn't seem right as they are both a little sweet, but for some reason, rather than clashing, they complement each other in taste and in color; both are good choices for your holiday table.

You can make this ahead of time and reheat in the microwave.

3 pounds butternut squash
4 tablespoons butter
½ teaspoon ground cardamom
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons honey
¼ teaspoon pepper

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Using a heavy knife, carefully halve the squash lengthwise and scoop out the seeds, which will be in the bulbous bottom half. Wrap the pieces of squash loosely in foil and bake until tender. This usually takes an hour.

Remove the squash from the oven, cool a little so you can handle the pieces easily, and scoop out the flesh. Purée it in a food processor using the metal blade. Mix in the butter, seasonings, and honey, and process again until combined. Taste to adjust the seasoning. Serve hot.